By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
ATLANTA ó N.C. State’s immediate future is as uncertain as coach Sidney Lowe’s ever-changing rotation.
Freshman point guard Julius Mays played for the first time in nearly a month and scored a career-high 18 points, but the 10th-seeded Wolfpack lost 74-69 against seventh-seeded Maryland in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
Greivis Vasquez posted 17 points and dished out 10 assists that contributed to a career-high 21 points from Eric Hayes as the Terrapins (19-12) advanced to a quarterfinal matchup with Wake Forest. Another victory would seriously help their NCAA tournament hopes.
N.C. State (16-14) is eligible for the NIT, but the college careers of seniors Ben McCauley and Courtney Fells ó as well as redshirt junior Brandon Costner ó might have ended Thursday night at the Georgia Dome.
“We’ll have to sit back and watch things play out and see if we’re lucky enough to play on,” McCauley said. “Obviously I would love to keep playing. I love playing at this school, and I don’t want it to end.”
Costner isn’t so sure.
His breakout performance helped the Wolfpack reach the ACC Tournament final in 2007, and it fell in the opening round for the second straight season.
Costner, who redshirted as a true freshman, is in his fourth year at N.C. State and could pursue a professional career.
“It all depends on certain things and sitting down with the coaches and my family and deciding what’s best,” Costner said. “It’s a lot to go into it. I’m graduating and how I would help the team out, just a lot of things that go into it. It’s going to be a tough decision.”
McCauley finished with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds, and Costner scored five points in 18 foul-plagued minutes. Fells, who missed the regular-season finale with a groin injury, had four points.
Lowe said he didn’t play backup point guard Farnold Degand for disciplinary reasons. That created a chance for Mays, who had totaled one minute in the previous eight games. He hadn’t made a field goal since January.
“My mom, my family and my high school coach have been constantly talking to me, telling me to keep myself ready mentally and don’t let it get to me, don’t let it bother me, keep working hard,” Mays said. “It’s been real tough. I’ve never been a guy to sit on the bench, but Coach is playing who he thought should be playing. I just listened to what he said.”
Mays, who played eight more minutes than starting point guard Javier Gonzalez, hit three 3-pointers and eclipsed his previous high of 13 points.
His last 3-pointer gave N.C. State a 62-61 lead with 4:17 left, and Maryland took control by scoring the next 11 points.
Lowe praised the effort of Mays but also cited him as a player who made defensive mistakes during the Terrapins’ decisive run.
“He missed a couple of assignments late ó we were supposed to switch and he didn’t switch, and that cost us ó but other than that, I thought he played a solid game,” Lowe said.
The Wolfpack, which led 21-8 midway through the first half, went ahead 45-43 on a 3-pointer from Dennis Horner with 10:57 left.
It was the first of 14 lead changes in a span of seven minutes, and the final one came on Maryland guard Sean Mosley’s layup with 3:54 remaining.
The Terps, who at one point scored on 11 consecutive second-half possessions, jumped in front 66-62 on a 3-pointer by Vasquez.
Landon Milbourne blocked a layup attempt by McCauley, and Hayes produced five unanswered points at the foul line to move veteran coach Gary Williams’ squad a step closer to the NCAAs.
“Coach Williams wants to get into the NCAA tournament just as bad as the rest of us,” Maryland senior Dave Neal said. “He knew to do so we have to win two. And if we win two, we’ll then change our mindset and try to win this championship.”